Trip and Fall
by sasha1600
Summary: Part of the Future Perfect Universe. Katie's new job isn't entirely free of bumps and bruises. Warning: discussion of spanking of adults. Don't like? Don't read!
1. Chapter 1

**Trip and Fall**

**Summary:** Part of the Future Perfect Universe. Katie's new job isn't entirely free of bumps and bruises. **Warning: **discussion of spanking of adults. Don't like? Don't read!

**Disclaimer:** Katie and Leigh are mine; the rest belong to other people.

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A/N: This story takes place in the Future Perfect Universe, which features Katie and Leigh, the twin daughters of Tim and Abby.

**Warning: this story contains the mention of off-screen spanking of adults. If you have a problem with that, click on that 'back' button now. You've been warned.**

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Gibbs raced through the sliding glass doors and, with a familiarity born of too many visits here with his team, headed straight for the nurses' station. Not for the first time, he wished that Ducky was still around to cut through the bureaucracy for him. The ME had always been good at getting past hospital red tape.

He was just about to tell the nurse on duty that no, he would _not_ like to take a seat in the waiting area, when he heard his name being called. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a uniformed Marine striding towards him.

'She's alright, Gunny,' Colonel Montgomery called out as he approached. Despite the passage of time, Gibbs recognised him immediately, even without the oak leaves on his collar and the simple logic connecting Katie's boss to the situation.

'What the hell happened, Montgomery?' he demanded.

Montgomery didn't seem surprised not to be afforded even a greeting. And, to Gibbs's relief, he got straight to the point.

'She tripped. Landed the wrong way against a desk, sprained her wrist. She'll be fine.'

'She _tripped_?' Gibbs asked, one eyebrow raised. He had been concerned that his former subordinate might target Katie as a form of revenge. It wouldn't be the first time that an unpopular newcomer suddenly became 'accident prone', and Gibbs had made enough enemies in his day for plenty of unpopularity to spill over onto someone, apparently vulnerable, associated with him. Including, he suspected, the man standing in front of him, who had learned a few hard lessons on the wrong end of Gibbs's belt.

To his credit, Montgomery didn't pretend not to understand.

'Nobody was playing 'pin the tail on the civilian', Gunny. She just tripped. You can ask her yourself in half an hour.'

'Why the hell can't I ask her _now_? I want to see my...'

'She's been sent for X-rays, just to make sure nothing's broken. They're pretty confident it's just a sprain, but better safe than sorry.'

'What did she trip on?'

The abrupt change in the direction of the conversation didn't faze Montgomery, who seemed unsurprised that Gibbs wasn't letting up on him yet.

'A book.'

'A _book_? What the hell was a book doing...'

'One of the people she was working with ran out of flat surfaces, put it down on the floor...' Gibbs opened his mouth to comment, but Montgomery continued quickly, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, 'And yes, I've already suggested he use his chair in the future. He's not going to be sitting on it for a while, anyways...'

Gibbs felt some of his anger deflating, and raised one eyebrow meaningfully. He hadn't expected the Marine who had clearly resented being spanked to have adopted the same strategy with his men.

'I thought you'd appreciate that. It's good to see you, Gibbs. When I saw your name on McGee's security paperwork, I hoped we'd have a chance to meet again. I'd hoped it would be under better circumstances...' Montgomery trailed off.

'You've done well, Montgomery,' Gibbs commented.

'I never did thank you, Gibbs, for making me get my head on straight.'

Gibbs smirked.

'You didn't much appreciate it at the time.'

'I do now. I was one hell of a screwed up kid. Nobody had ever cared enough to call me on it, until you. Not many men would do what you did for me. Thank you, Gunny.'

Montgomery held out his hand. Gibbs clasped it firmly, bringing his other hand up to slap the other man affectionately on the shoulder.

'You're welcome, _Colonel_.'


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs looked up from the uncomfortable plastic chairs where he was chatting amiably with Montgomery, alerted by the smell of coffee to a young Marine's quiet approach. Montgomery followed his gaze.

'I figured it might be a while, so I sent Thomas to find some coffee.'

For a moment, Gibbs wondered if some new-fangled practice had the colonel referring to his aide by his first name, but then he caught sight of the tag on the captain's uniform and realised that Thomas was his surname. The younger man handed over the coffee, acknowledged Gibbs's thanks almost sheepishly, and moved to stand at parade rest a discrete distance away.

'I take it that's the knucklehead who left the book on the floor?' Gibbs asked, taking a sip of the steaming black coffee. Montgomery obviously remembered how he took the beverage, having had to fetch it often enough as part of one punishment detail or other.

Gibbs's suspicion was confirmed by the red flush that crept up the younger man's neck.

Montgomery chuckled.

'How'd you guess?'

'Because he's moving like a man with a sore ass, and I'd hope you haven't had to take your belt to more than one of your Marines today.'

The flush deepened.

'I can see why they made you an investigator, Gibbs. Nothing gets by you,' Montgomery replied, now openly laughing. He continued, introducing the two men, 'Gibbs, meet Bryson Thomas, the geek who's working most closely with McGee on this project. Gibbs here was my first Gunny out of boot camp.'

The younger man managed a polite 'hello', but Gibbs could tell that he was not pleased by his CO's description of him as a 'geek', and puzzled about the reason for Gibbs's presence. He let the wording of his question enlighten him, telling himself that he was not going soft.

'Did you decide to have a little fun with my goddaughter, Thomas? Remind her that civilians don't belong on a Marine base?'

Thomas sputtered for a moment before he was finally able to answer.

'No, Gunny. And Dr. McGee isn't exactly a typical civilian. She knows what she's talking about, and not much seems to surprise her. Hell, when Ortiz warned her that Corpsmen tend to have lousy bedside manners, she said she grew up getting patched up by a _medical examiner_!'

Gibbs smiled and shook his head, remembering just how often Palmer had been pressed into service after one of the girls had fallen off a bike or out of a tree. But any reply he would have made was cut off when a sliding door swooshed open and Katie appeared, her right wrist in a brace and supported by a sling.

He was at her side in a moment, demanding to know if she was ok, if they were _sure_ it was just a sprain, how long she'd have to wear the brace.

'I'm _fine_, Uncle Gibbs! Stop fussing! It's a sprain. It will heal. I take it Mama's still in court?'

Gibbs nodded in reply. Someone from Montgomery's office had called him after both her parents' phones had gone directly to voicemail. He knew that Tim was teaching a two-week course at FLETC, and Abby must not be done yet for the day.

'The only problem is going to be writing code with one hand; adapting the training program is probably going to take a bit longer than expected...'

Katie's last sentence had been directed at her approaching boss.

'Don't worry about the timeframe, Dr. McGee; we'll work it out. I'm just glad to hear you're alright.'

Gibbs let Katie extricate herself from his hug. But, before she could reply, the colonel continued, 'I really wasn't looking forward to explaining to Gunny here that I'd broken his goddaughter.'

Gibbs chuckled.

'It wouldn't be the first thing of mine you'd broken, Montgomery.'

'Oh, don't worry, Gibbs. I still remember your reaction when I broke your coffee mug...'

'That was because you _broke_ it by throwing it against a wall!'

'It could have been worse. I wanted to throw it at your head...'

'You _did!_ I _ducked_!'

Katie's eyes grew wide, clearly surprised that her temporary boss and Gibbs knew one another.

'I should have known,' she muttered. 'Do _all_ Marines know each other?' she asked of no one in particular, turning her head away from the older men. In so doing, she caught sight of her young co-worker, hovering uncertainly nearby.

'I didn't realise you were here, too, Captain.'

'I just wanted to make sure you were really alright, and to apologise again...'

'It's alright, Captain. I should have watched where I was going...'

'No, it's my fault, I...'

'Captain, I'm _fine_. Really.'

'I'm glad, Dr. McGee. I... uh... I should probably... uh...'

'You should probably get back to work, Thomas.'

'Yessir.'

The young Marine pulled himself together at the unmistakeable order from his CO. He nodded a farewell to Gibbs, told Katie that he hoped to see her back at work soon, and practically fled.

But not before Gibbs had noticed the way the young Marine's eyes had lit up when he was talking to Katie.


End file.
